Jason Vega takes long, winding road from NU

Jeff Howe, Patriots NotebookWednesday, February 20, 2013

Credit: Unknown

BACK IN THE BAY STATE: Former Brockton and Northeastern star Jason Vega has signed a future contract with the Patriots.

Jason Vega has that relentless drive of a Brockton guy and former Northeastern football player. The Huskies didn’t win much, which severely limited their exposure, before the university abandoned its program.

The resiliency was omnipresent, to return to the field every day, to fight for a teammate, and to better oneself when few outside gave them the chance. Now, three years after leaving Northeastern, Vega finally has his greatest opportunity.

The 25-year-old defensive end officially signed his three-year future contract with the Patriots yesterday, and he’ll soon join an NFL camp for the first time. Vega spent three seasons in the CFL, registering 12 sacks and 66 tackles during the previous two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“It’s always been something that I’ve looked forward to from the time I started playing football,” Vega said yesterday in a phone conversation from Winnipeg. “It’s just kind of one of those things that I’ve always been told that (the NFL) will always find you no matter where you are, whether you play Division 3 football or 1-A. If you’re not good enough, you’re not going to go.

“It’s one of those things that once I got out of Northeastern, I took a blow to that mentality a little bit, especially since I got passed up and ended up in the CFL. But as I’ve played up here these past few years, I’ve enjoyed my team here but certainly kept my mentality that it was always possible that I’d be able to go back down there.”

Vega, a 6-foot-4, 255-pounder, worked out for the Green Bay Packers in 2010 but couldn’t land a contract. He instead signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats but missed the season with an injury, so he returned to Northeastern as an academic adviser, helping athletes on the volleyball, swimming and track and field teams.

Vega believed his time at Northeastern helped him get to this point in his career.

“I guess dealing with adversity on a bunch of different levels,” Vega said. “We didn’t win much there, and we just continued to try to plug on every week and work out as hard as you can, even though the outlook doesn’t look very good in regard to football. After everything happened when the program was canceled and all the coaches scattered and my opportunity for the draft was kind of dwindling as that went, I think that taught me more about the whole process more than anything else.”

Vega was in Winnipeg yesterday but has been training in Miami for most of the offseason. While the Patriots’ offseason program begins in April, Vega is waiting to see when he can report to Gillette Stadium. He was a defensive end in a four-man line in the CFL, and the Patriots will give him a similar role.

“I can’t tell you specifically what it is,” Vega said, “but I just know that’s more or less what I’m going to be doing with my hand on the ground.”

No decision

Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard could learn his fate today if the jury in his case reaches a verdict on three charges stemming from an alleged altercation with a police officer last April.

Dennard has been on trial at Lancaster County District Court in Lincoln, Neb., since Feb. 11, and the jury deliberated for nearly six hours yesterday but couldn’t reach a decision before the judge’s 7 p.m. deadline. The jury will resume deliberations this morning.

Dennard, who had three interceptions as a rookie, faces a felony charge for allegedly punching a police officer and two related misdemeanors.

Don’t stop

Because one round of Journey just isn’t enough.

Patriots punter Zoltan Mesko announced yesterday he will hold his second annual “Zolioke” event June 8 from 7-10 p.m. at Royale in Boston. The event benefits the Zoltan Mesko Foundation.

A flurry of Patriots participated in last year’s event, singing karaoke songs throughout the night for Children’s Hospital Boston.